This is a hybrid meeting:
- Join us in person at Knox Presbyterian Church (Lisgar & Elgin) in Geneva Hall. Please use the Garden Entrance on Elgin Street. Limited free street parking is available on Saturdays, and the City Hall Parking Garage is available for $2.00.
- Join online by registering here.
This registration covers all events.
Annual General Meeting / 9 a.m. EDT
BIFHSGO’s Annual General Meeting. Elections to the Board of Directors will be held for: President, Vice President, Treasurer, Communications and Membership.
Great Moments / 10 a.m. EDT
William Wallace: Family Myth, Brick Wall, Loyalist
Presenter: Carolyn Brown
Breaking the brick wall of this Loyalist ancestor meant first exploding a family myth and then using every genealogy pathway to learn his true origin.
Carolyn Brown has benefited from her long involvement in the British Colonial America SIG to learn more about her ancestors in 10 of the 13 Colonies. She took up genealogy seriously in 2010 when her father, who had compiled a lot of information in the pre-Internet age, passed on his files to her. When she’s not doing genealogy, Carolyn is a scientific and medical writer, editor and publishing consultant.
Secrets: The Pullman Family Revisited
Presenter: Patty McGregor
Patty's grandmother, Sadie Pullman Weir (1896-1981), had always wondered about her father's origins. The search to find the family of her father, John Pullman (1841-1905), was the subject of a BIFHSGO talk back in 2003. As it turned out, his weren't the only secrets the Pullman family kept close. New information has challenged those original findings, and led to questions about the well-documented 'paper trail'.
Patty McGregor is a retired public servant who was born and raised in Toronto but has lived in Ottawa since 1998. She has been seriously researching her roots since the early 1990s and is a graduate of the National Institute of Genealogical Studies as well as the author of the NIGS Canadian Immigration course. Some of you may recognize her as one of the Marketplace vendors at in-person genealogy conferences, selling used and out-of-print books related to family history research.
Nottingham’s Old General
Presenter: Marianne Rasmus
While researching one of her direct lines, Marianne Rasmus stumbled across a distant cousin, whose otherwise unremarkable life made an unforgettable impact on the people of Nottingham—a story which remains part of the city's lore to this day. Beginning with a present-day search for a statue, Marianne will examine available records and newspaper articles and share the remarkable story of Nottingham's Old General.
After reluctantly taking Canadian History as a “filler” course in college, Marianne Rasmus discovered her passion for history. It became an obsession when she began researching her family in 2008 and uncovered long-forgotten stories in her family tree. Born and raised in Vancouver, Marianne spent her life in BC, but when the opportunity for a mid-life adventure presented itself, Marianne and her husband, Bill, took the plunge and moved to Ottawa in 2013. Marianne became a member of BIFHSGO in 2014. She has given several presentations, served on the Board, the Conference Planning Committee, and is facilitator for the British Colonial America SIG. She was inducted to the BIFHSGO Hall of Fame in June 2025
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